Lawmaker seeks home school oversight after 13 found captive

LOS ANGELES (AP) — City officials couldn’t find any records that the fire marshal conducted required annual inspections at a California home that doubled as a private school where authorities say 13 malnourished siblings were kept captive in filthy conditions by their parents.

On Wednesday, a state lawmaker for the area said he’s considering introducing legislation requiring state officials to conduct at least annual walkthroughs of schools.

Private schools in California are not licensed by the state education department and no agency regulates or oversees them, although they are supposed to register the number of students. They are, however, subject to an annual inspection by the state or local fire marshal.

“I am extremely concerned about the lack of oversight the state of California currently has in monitoring private and home schools,” Assemblyman Jose Medina, a Democrat who represents the area, said.

In response to a public records request by The Associated Press, Perris Assistant City Clerk Judy Haughney said Wednesday that there were no records of any fire inspections conducted at the home. The city’s fire marshal, Dave Martinez, did not return repeated phone messages seeking comment.

David Allen Turpin and his wife, Louise Anna Turpin, were arrested Sunday after authorities found the malnourished children in their home in Riverside County. The couple was jailed on $9 million bail each. Charges that may include torture and child endangerment could come Wednesday and a court appearance was scheduled for Thursday, authorities said.

Deputies said some siblings were shackled to furniture in the foul-smelling home in suburban Riverside County. They were so malnourished that the older ones still looked like children.

Medina’s plan was still in the early stages but could include an annual walk-through of home and private schools by state or county officials “to ascertain the safety and well-being of the students,” he said.

David Turpin had been home schooling his children at the residence, which he called the Sandcastle Day School. In the 2016-17 school year, it had an enrollment of six, with one student each in the fifth, sixth, eighth, ninth, 10th and 12th grades.

More than 3,000 private schools were registered with the California education department in September 2017, according to the latest data available.

Laws vary across the country for homeschooling children. Some states require very little oversight, while California’s requirement of registering children is one of the most stringent.

The 2015 killing of a 7-year-old Kansas boy who was supposedly being home schooled prompted calls for reform in that state, though none have gone through. Kansas similarly requires schools to register and directs them to provide “competent” teachers but has no other oversight.

State Sen. Richard Roth, a Democrat who also represents Perris, said it’s critical to make sure laws on the books, such as the one requiring fire inspections of private schools, are enforced.

“We need to make sure people are following the laws and regulations we do have,” he said.

Ron Reynolds, the executive director of the California Association of Private School Organizations, which represents 1,500 private schools, said most schools are regulated by boards of directors and parents, who sign contracts and review standards before enrolling their children.

Folks the CPEs will do anything to forbid home schooling! Any excuse! And I was prepared for this possibility back in the late 80s when after having my first child I decided to home school him (being a public school math teacher and knowing how bad public schools are)–prepare by:
1. moving to a home school friendly state (such as Texas)
2. save money for private or Christian school for your children–decent education is worth the money (don’t be penny wise and pound foolish here)
3. get educator certified if necessary
4. join HSDLA (home school legal defense assoc.)
5. If you are a certified teacher, get administrator certified as well (which is why I got my MEd. in Counseling as a guidance counselor, just in case)
6. Set up a home school org. in your area and put a certified administrator (principal, counselor, superintendent) in your group in charge, and call this group a home school or private school…you can teach your kids but you have an “administrator” in charge.

But the best thing to do is get the hell outta Californication if you can. Honestly I do not know why non-libtards still live in this state (and no, Mark, I am not insulting you!)